Reaction To Lyons Road Bridge Proposal Split

Buster Cobb hurls a rock across the Hillsboro Canal spot that has always barred suburban Palm Beach County residents from Broward County ranches across the way.

But the rift won`t last much longer.

Officials from both counties are gearing up to bridge the canal at Lyons Road, giving motorists an eighth option for traveling between the counties -- and giving residents and merchants a reason for joy or grief. They will be able to express their feelings at a public hearing July 17 at 7:30 p.m. at Loggers` Run Community Middle School on Palmetto Park Road, west of Boca Raton.

``I think it`s a good idea. It`ll give easier access,`` said Cobb, who lays carpet at the still-expanding Boca Barwood, the massive residential development on the canal in Palm Beach County. ``It wouldn`t take that long to build a bridge since I can throw a rock across.``

Resident Jay DiPietro, however, hopes he never sees a bridge.

``It seems strange to me that here we are two blocks from 441 and they want to make a residential area into a commercial area,`` said DiPietro, 48, who chose his Broward County ranch despite having to travel an hour to work. ``Everybody came here to get away from the traffic and the problems.``

County engineers planned the Lyons Road link many years ago, but explosive population growth makes it more timely now, said assistant county engineer Haney Frakes. About 22,000 cars now travel U.S. 441 near the canal, while the two-lane road was designed to handle 10,000 cars, Frakes said.

Homes continue to sprout west of Boca Raton, forcing cars to spillonto U.S. 441 or travel miles east to Powerline Road, the first free link to Broward. Travelers also can use Florida`s Turnpike, Interstate 95, Dixie Highway, Federal Highway and State Road A1A.

``They really seem to be interested in that bridge,`` Frakes said of Broward and Palm Beach county commissioners, who met for the first time last month to discuss common issues. The bridge was one of them.

Commissioners decided to split building costs 50-50. County Engineer Herb Kahlert said Palm Beach County has impact fees available for the work, estimated to cost about $500,000. Residents now must wait for Broward to provide its share, which may come with the help of state funds or a developer.

``Then I could cut over to Hillsboro Road on Lyons, instead of taking 441 over. That`s cutting off 10 minutes (of travel), which means a lot.``

Chiropractor Ken Rosenblatt said the bridge could lure Broward County patients to his office at Lyons and Glades Road, now accessible by State Road 7.

``State Road 7 throws a real mental block in the minds of people. It`s a real dangerous road,`` said Rosenblatt, who cited tanker spills and the recent deaths of two Century Village residents. The road sometimes worries the six Broward patients he now serves, said Rosenblatt, a canal-area resident.

Norma Mueller said she is counting on the bridge to help her O`Donnell Farms nursery on Lyons Road in Broward.

``I wish they`d get at it,`` said Mueller, manager of the 5-acre nursery of 50,000 plants. No cars were parked there one recent afternoon. ``It`s bound to increase our business. We`re waiting with bated breath.``

But the bridge is not welcomed by some.

Carlo Carlotti, manager of Cumberland Farms at 23077 State Road 7 in Palm Beach County, says the bridge could drive cars away from his gasoline station, which depends heavily on passers-by.

Theodore Conyers, who will be able to see the bridge from his home parking lot at Boca Barwood, said he dreads the traffic that the bridge will lure.

And Nikki DiPietro, who raised seven sons on her ranch in Broward County, is sorry to see her dead-end street go. She and her husband, Jay, have fought plans for a water plant and two area rezonings to protect the rural street of ranches, which includes one- and 60-acre plots.